Sharif Digital Repository

In this work, the effects of the surface-modified nanodiamond particles (NDs) on the barrier, rheological, mechanical and thermal properties of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composites for the packaging applications were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as well as thermal gravimetric analysis were employed to study the grafting of vinyltriethoxy silane (VTS) on the surface of NDs. Afterwards, EVA samples containing 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 wt% of surface-modified NDs were prepared by a two-stage process including the solution and injection processes. In order to evaluate the physicochemical, rheological, mechanical and thermal properties of the EVA/NDs samples, field... 

The effects of hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanosilica (SiO2) on the morphology, mean diameter distribution of fibers, mechanical and piezoelectric properties of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers were studies. We prepared Nanofibers by the electrospinning of PVDF solutions containing 1.5 wt.% both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nano-SiO2 loadings. Morphology and diameter distribution of the electrospun nanofibers were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. Tensile test was used to study the effect of both types of nanosilica on the tensile strength, young's modulus and strain at break. Piezoelectric characterization of the electrospun fibers were... 

In this study, water-soluble terpolymers containing highly hydrophilic monomers of acrylamide and maleic anhydride and highly hydrophobic monomers of styrene were synthesized (ASM) through the one-step inverse emulsion polymerization. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) were performed to investigate the chemical structures and structural transformations of ASM. Thermal stability and thermal decomposition steps of ASM were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). An Ubbelhode capillary viscometer and a rheological mechanical spectrometer (RMS) were employed to obtain the specific, relative, and... 

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a 2D layered structure, because of its unique properties has widely attracted many researchers. In this study, by employing physical and chemical methods, not only layers of MoS2 have been intercalated, but also their surface properties enhanced. Low-dimensional and potential properties of intercalated MoS2 nanosheets are the aim of many researches. Here, we report a novel four step method to intercalate the layers of MoS2 nanosheets successfully using acid treatment, sonication, oxidization and thermal shocking. The other goal in this study is to evaluate the cation exchange ability and anticorrosion performance of the Ce3+ doped MoS2 nanosheets. The... 

In this work, the addition of a novel polyaniline (PANI)/silica (SiO2) nanostructure (PSn) in chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers (CP) was evaluated to enhance the dye removal capacity of CP. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results confirmed the chemical grafting of SiO2 on PANI nanoparticles. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) results showed a specific surface area of 61 m2 g−1 for the PSn filled CP nanofiber (CP-PSn). FE-SEM and EDS-elemental mapping results showed the uniform dispersibility of PSn in CP nanofibers. After the addition of PSn into CP, the adsorption capacity of... 

In this study, the different parts of carthamus tinctorius plant, including petal (SPE), leaf (SLE), and shoot (SSE), have been extracted. Adsorption of the extracts on mild steel in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution was evaluated employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical noise measurements (EN). The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were employed to appraise the morphology of the samples surface subjected to the test solutions. According to the EIS results, the maximum adsorption efficiency belonged to the solution containing 1 g L−1 of... 

In this article, the synthesis procedure of mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MCNSs) using silica hard-templates, doping of the nanospheres with walnut extract, and their impact on active protective properties of an epoxy coating are presented. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) results showed that the synthesis of these nanocontainers was successfully done in spherical form. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results showed that walnut extract as a green inhibitor was doped into the pores of nanocapsules. Corrosion resistance of the mild steel samples in the 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution in the presence and absence of walnut extract... 

The high aspect ratio and unique thermal and electrical characteristics of carbon nanofiber (CNF) made it an ideal physical barrier against the penetration of corrosive ions. However, the poor compatibility of the CNF with the polymer matrix and the lack of active corrosion inhibitors are the key limitations of this nanomaterial, resulting in short-term anti-corrosion resistance. An intelligent self-healing epoxy (EP) coating, including CNF modified with a polydopamine (PDA)-La3+ complex, was successfully fabricated to overcome these issues. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) evaluation implied that mild steel (MS) submerged in a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution containing the CNF-PDA-La... 

The effects of different nano-SiO2 contents on the rheological properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) solution and mechanical, thermal, structural, and piezoelectric properties of composite nanofibers were investigated. Results showed an increase in fiber diameter (∼125 to 350 nm) and ∼450% increase in tensile strength as the content of nano-SiO2 particles increased. The degree of crystallinity decreased by 19% as the nano-SiO2 content increased by 2% (w/w). Further investigation demonstrated that silica could significantly improve the piezoelectric properties of PVDF nanofibers as the output voltage showed an increase in the presence of silica attributed to change in the crystalline... 

Poly (vinyl alcohol) and nano-diamond, PVA/ND, hydrogels were prepared and assessed as prosthetic material suitable for replacement of the nucleus pulposus. The hydrogels were prepared by gamma irradiation at various doses (15 kGy, 25 kGy, 35 kGy, 45 kGy) and at various ND concentrations ranging from 0.25 wt.% to 3 wt.%. Extent of gelation, equilibrium water content, and viscoelastic properties of swelled hydrogels at definite water contents were measured and examined as a function of ND concentration as well as gamma dose. According to viscoelastic measurements, the strength of hydrogels increased considerably over that of pure PVA at a low concentration of ND. By increasing irradiation... 

Polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) nanocomposites for wood adhesives containing different amounts of colloidal silica nanoparticles (CSNs) were synthesized via in situ one-step emulsion polymerization. The adhesion strength of wood specimens bonded by PVAc nanocomposites was investigated by the tensile test. Thermal properties of PVAc nanocomposites were also characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Rheological and morphological properties of the PVAc nanocomposites were investigated using rheometric mechanical spectrometry and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. The obtaining results showed that the shear strength of PVAc... 

This study reports the fabrication of a new cathode electrode assembly using polyaniline (PANI) and graphene on a stainless steel mesh (SSM) as an alternative for the conventional expensive cathode of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). With respect to the previous efforts to propose an efficient and cost-effective alternative for platinum (Pt) catalysts and cathode electrodes, the present study investigates the assessment of different catalysts to elucidate the potential of the modified SSM cathode electrode for larger-scale MECs. In the case of feeding dairy wastewater to the MEC, the maximum hydrogen production rate and COD removal were obtained by SSM/PANI/graphene cathode and had the... 

We investigate eigenvectors of rank-one deformations of random matrices B = A + θuu* in which A ∈ RN×N is a Wigner real symmetric random matrix, θ ∈ R+, and u is uniformly distributed on the unit sphere. It is well known that for θ > 1 the eigenvector associated with the largest eigenvalue of B closely estimates u asymptotically, while for θ < 1 the eigenvectors of B are uninformative about u. We examine O(1/N) correlation of eigenvectors with u before phase transition and show that eigenvectors with larger eigenvalue exhibit stronger alignment with deforming vector through an explicit inverse law 1/θ*-x with θ* := θ + 1/θ. This distribution function will be shown to be the ordinary... 

We investigate eigenvectors of rank-one deformations of random matrices boldsymbol B = boldsymbol A + theta boldsymbol {uu}{} in which boldsymbol A in mathbb R{N times N} is a Wigner real symmetric random matrix, theta in mathbb R{+} , and boldsymbol u is uniformly distributed on the unit sphere. It is well known that for theta > 1 the eigenvector associated with the largest eigenvalue of boldsymbol B closely estimates boldsymbol u asymptotically, while for theta < 1 the eigenvectors of boldsymbol B are uninformative about boldsymbol u. We examine mathcal O({1}/{N}) correlation of eigenvectors with boldsymbol u before phase transition and show that eigenvectors with larger eigenvalue exhibit... 

The modified Hummer technique was used in the preparation of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, and then SiO 2 decorated GO [GO(SiO 2 )] nanosheets were synthesized via the sol–gel method. Then, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposites loaded with 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt % of GO(SiO 2 ) were prepared using magnesium ethoxide/GO(SiO 2 )-supported Ziegler–Natta catalysts via the in situ polymerization. Morphological study of the prepared polymer powders was assessed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, which showed that GO(SiO 2 ) nanohybrids have been uniformly dispersed and distributed into the UHMWPE matrix. Also, the neat UHMWPE and its nanocomposites were... 

In this work, we synthesized carbon hollow spheres (CHSs) using the silica templating method, encapsulated 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) inhibitor in the CHSs and evaluated their corrosion inhibition performance upon exposure of mild steel to a saline solution containing the released inhibitor. The effects of silica template surface modification on the CHS structure was evaluated, while the structure and morphology of the synthesized CHS was analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy... 

We present and evaluate Deep Private-Feature Extractor (DPFE), a deep model which is trained and evaluated based on information theoretic constraints. Using the selective exchange of information between a user's device and a service provider, DPFE enables the user to prevent certain sensitive information from being shared with a service provider, while allowing them to extract approved information using their model. We introduce and utilize the log-rank privacy, a novel measure to assess the effectiveness of DPFE in removing sensitive information and compare different models based on their accuracy-privacy trade-off. We then implement and evaluate the performance of DPFE on smartphones to... 

In this study, reinforcement of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated using the sol-gel surface modified diamond nanoparticles (NDs). Nanocomposite samples were synthesized via in-situ polymerization using bi-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and contact angle measurements proved the proper silanization (∼1.9%) of NDs. Characterization of the catalysts revealed decrease in the activity of catalysts in presence of NDs which were responsible for the lower average molecular weight of the samples. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed an improved dispersion of the modified NDs in... 

Graphene-based carbon hollow spheres (CHSs) fabrication, doped with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) was successfully done in previous work. The active/barrier corrosion protection performance (CPP) of epoxy coatings was evaluated using salt spray test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). Results proved the active/barrier CPP enhancement of epoxy coatings in the presence of 3 wt. % MBI@CHSs. While the presence of MBI and empty CHSs in epoxy coatings did not further improve the active performance. An improvement in the adhesion loss of the epoxy coating, ca. 58 %, was observed in the presence of 3 wt. % MBI@CHSs. © 2021  

We present and evaluate Deep Private-Feature Extractor (DPFE), a deep model which is trained and evaluated based on information theoretic constraints. Using the selective exchange of information between a user's device and a service provider, DPFE enables the user to prevent certain sensitive information from being shared with a service provider, while allowing them to extract approved information using their model. We introduce and utilize the log-rank privacy, a novel measure to assess the effectiveness of DPFE in removing sensitive information and compare different models based on their accuracy-privacy trade-off. We then implement and evaluate the performance of DPFE on smartphones to...